Automobile theft is a growing problem in the United States, as well as around the world. Typically, a vehicle can be equipped with all theft deterrent systems, and still it can be stolen, disassembled, and sold before being recovered. Worse still, once a vehicle has been stolen, it is often used in commission of a more serious crime. Without question, there is a need to prevent automobile theft in some other way than trying to simply improve locks and engine arrest systems.
Tracking systems are some of the most effective ways to recover an automobile that has been stolen. For example, the LoJack™ system tracks the position of a vehicle once the owner has alerted law enforcement officials that the vehicle has been stolen. Typically, because the LoJack™ device is hidden unobtrusively in an automobile, the auto thief does not have time to try to locate the device before the position of the vehicle is determined. Accordingly, LoJack™ seems to be rather effective at vehicle recovery. However, not all owners realize that their vehicle has been stolen until hours after the automobile is gone. In such case, the LoJack™ device might not be an effective answer because the vehicle could easily have been stripped down already, or worse, used in the commission of another crime. Quite simply, there is a need for a different approach to automobile theft prevention.
In addition, when law enforcement officers pull over a vehicle in a routine traffic stop, the standard routine is to request the operator's driver's license and the vehicle's registration. There is an inherent danger to the law enforcement officer when the operator typically leans over to the glove compartment to retrieve the registration information. It is desirable that the vehicle's operator would only have to provide one piece of identification to the officer, and that identification would suffice for both the operator and the vehicle.
Also, when vehicles are stolen, oftentimes the only information known to the insurer is the make and model of the vehicle, but add-ons are not recorded anywhere; thus, the owner of an unrecovered vehicle is not properly compensated for loss. It is desirable to have a method of officially and easily recording modifications to vehicles for insurance record purposes in case of theft, or even damage.
EP 0072336B1, GB 2352678A, and JP 03009585 are selections from a plethora of identification systems for automobiles which provide information linked to the automobile. However, unlike the present invention, the relevant art does not provide information in an instantaneous and organized fashion to quickly assist law enforcement officers in recovering and/or ultimately identifying an automobile. Unlike the present invention, there is not the kind of information detailing the vehicle to properly allow insurance companies to recognize the severity of a loss or damage.
Therefore, a need for a portable and simple automobile identification system exists despite attempts in the relevant art.